


The Light Beneath A Shadow

by the_raging_midgit



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - College/University, Celebrities, EXO - Freeform, Fanboy, Fansigns, In Denial, Instagram, Kyungsoo/Myungsoo friendship, Love, M/M, idol, internet stalking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-08-24 13:11:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8373472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_raging_midgit/pseuds/the_raging_midgit
Summary: As much as he doesn't particularly like to admit it, Do Kyungsoo's an EXO fan boy. Says who? Well, maybe all the merchandise stuffed under his bed. But then he makes the mistake of liking an old Instagram photo posted by Kai and to his shock and horror, the famous celebrity actually starts following him back. How quickly does the college boy's life change after that one snap decision?





	1. Decision

Do Kyungsoo's fingertips hovered over the like button before ignoring the negative voice at the back of his mind and just going for it. 3...2...1...and done!

He'd just liked an Instagram photo posted by _kai_ss._

But his reluctance wasn't because he was embarrassed, no way; it wasn't like he personally knew 'Kai' whose real name was Kim Jongin. No. What bugged him was the fact that this post was fifty-three weeks old. It wasn't one of the oldest snaps but still pretty ancient if you considered the other boy's impressive number of posts. Not that he'd noticed will all the likes he already gets seconds after posting.

There was a reason for that though. You see, Kim Jongin was a member of a group called Exo. The main dancer to be specific and although Kyungsoo considered himself a fan he had no idea why, when he was meant to be studying, he was stalking Jongin on his Instagram page and liking blurry videos of the younger boy singing.

His voice wasn't particularity powerful or as stable as some of the other vocalists in the group but it had something special to it, something that drew him in. The blond haired boy had always been interesting, most likely due to his quiet, shy nature. He always looked thoughtful, like he was deep in thought but unwilling to share his musings with the rest of the world. Kyungsoo wished he was privy to even the most ridiculous ones.

"What are you up to?"

His roommate stumbled in to his room, bangs covering half his face and a smug look on his face. Kim Myungsoo was a good friend of his but honestly, had the grace of a baby elephant. Their names rhymed perfectly and that was the reason most of their friends had said caused them to hit off so well.

Kyungsoo practically threw his phone under his pillow, not wanting the loud boy to find out what he was doing and laugh at him. It was already bad enough that his roommate had found his Exo posters and hidden merchandise a few days ago and wouldn't stop giggling about it every time he remembered. That was a memory he wished he could erase from his brain. The cruel world didn't work like that though.

Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough and Myungsoo grabbed the phone and began a mentally analysing what he saw. Then, he burst out laughing. Not in an attractive way either, it was all snorts and seal like clapping. Disgraceful.

"Did the great Do Kyungsoo just like a picture from...." he paused to take a breath, "almost a year ago?"

This caused the owl eyed boy to flush and glare hotly at his friend.

"Shut up and give me my phone, asshole," he ordered, flatly, eyes leveled on the pleased looking face.

Myungsoo's grip had slackened considerably due to his laughing, making it easier for the older boy to snatch his possession back and stuff it back to its rightful spot under his pillow. Where it should be, safe from any mocking or laughing from a certain someone.

Ruffling his hair and chucking, Myungsoo bent down, "Don't get so worked up Kyungsoo, you know I'm kidding,"

And that was something Kyungsoo _did_ know, annoyed or not. Sure his friend could be a little irritating at times and rarely left him alone, he was there for him when it counted and never had any real bite to his teasing.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get out so I can actually revise. Aren't you out chasing Sungyeol at this time anyway?"

His best friend's crush on their other friend was obvious to the entire year and probably all the lecturers. He probably wouldn't know what subtlety meant even if it grabbed him and made him swallow a dictionary. The gossip mill was well and truly running, most people predicted that it wouldn't be long until one of those two somehow got a clue - most likely to be Sungyeol.

"You're right. See you later man," smiling at the thought of the cheerful giant, he practically skipped out of the room.

All of a sudden the room was back to quiet. He contemplated picking up his books and stared at his pillow, remembering what he'd been doing before interruption. The black haired boy typed in the pass code and opened the app again, ending up on his own page.

His display picture was an aegyo selfie that was a result of a painful dare. Suffice to say, just looking at it made his toes curl - cute was not his style. It was a picture of him with his fingers making a peace sign on either side of his head and framing his face. He had that heart shaped smile that made him "stop looking like a serial killer" and "an adorable high school student" instead.

A lot of people told him that his looks didn't really match with his personality and voice and it was something that he agreed with. He looked a lot younger that he actually was but with his deep voice and gruff personality, he was the opposite of a typical university student.

His actual profile wasn't as bad as it could be. He mostly uploaded videos of himself cooking, one because someone had to feed Myungsoo and two because it was an actual hobby of his. A lot of his followers asked him questions about the recicpes or gave him beneficial tips which he was always grateful for.

There was the occasional group picture but none of him by himself, all the ones he'd taken alone looked either weird or incredibly awkward. Were there lessons for these things or were some people naturally born with camera ready faces? It wasn't fair.

A few seconds later a notification icon popped up and his phone buzzed.

 _Kai_ss liked your photo_.

He blinked a couple of times, unable to believe what was in front of him. Did the exclusive celebrity who had millions of followers like his picture? The celebrity he would never ever tell anyone he watched compilation vieoes on YouTube containing his body rolls and pelvic thrusts because Kyungsoo was a loser and Jongin was hot.

Logic told him this was a dream but his eyes were still showing the same image. The picture wasn't one worth liking either. It was one of him, wearing a pair of old glasses in the kitchen with a large knife in his hand and an apron around his waist. That's right, a hideous pink apron that he'd got on sale along with most of his kitchen appliances.

The caption was 'Kim Myungsoo, run' and he'd posted it after baking a birthday cake for his childhood friend only for the ungrateful prat to run off with half the icing.

Back to Jongin. He'd probably been scrolling through his feed and accidentally liked it. Most likely a one time fluke, he though, frowning at the screen. He ignored it and put it back down, only for it to buzz again.

 _Kai_ss is now following you_.

And it was at that moment when Do Kyungsoo's heart stopped. The Kim Jongin, the dancing machine and handsome man of the most popular group in Korea was following him, a broke, gay college student. What had the world come to? It was as if someone had come to his door and given him a personal invitation to meet the Queen of England. That was how surprised and shocked he was feeling right now.

He wasn't exactly the most interactive out of all the members. In fact, he could be called a recluse. No one really knew much about him. It was Baekhyun and Chanyeol who usually replied to their fans and spoke the most in interviews. Lay, Kai and Sehun preferred to watch their antics and occasionally join in whereas Kris, Luhan and Tao laughed or shook their heads.

His bias was Chen because he saw many similarities between them. They both had a slightly evil side to them that involved bullying their friends for fun and laughing at their misery. Was he a little messed up? Yes. Did he care? No.

But out of all of them, the one whose eyes he was drawn to and wanted to to meet the most was undoubtedly Kim Jongin. His lean body and handsome features gave him heart problems whenever he sat down to watch a music video or live performance.

Emphasis on 'watch', he was admittedly far too poor to actually go to their live events recently. Kudos to fans that actually had the time and money to see them perform regularly because they were winning in life. He'd attended a few of their concerts in  Seoul last year when he'd been working at a convenience store and saving up and it has been amazing. But now his savings were something he could only dream about and Exo were promoting their new album which was so different from their previous works that he was seriously contemplating selling a kidney to go see live. Unfortunately he needed that kidney and he needed great grades this year so recovering from a major surgery was not on the list of things to look forward to.

By now, his slight obsession with the other boy wasn't exactly a secret from his friends but being a fan boy did have its down perks. For one, attending concerts did cause a few eyebrows to go up and he understood, honestly.

Sure, being a boy and liking a male group wasn't exactly the norm so many girls did look at him weirdly but nowadays he just avoided going to events. But that was also due to the fact that Myungsoo refused to accompany him to anymore concerts, simply because: he claimed his ears were damaged enough and also, he didn't want anymore of his precious Sungyeol time being taken up just so that they could get smothered by teenage girls.

All of a sudden, Myungsoo popped his unwanted head back into the room.

"Hey, Soo. Guess what? You know our classmate Joonhee, the one in our physics lecture. Yeah that one. She has tickets to Exo's next fansign and I told her that you'd go with her," he smiled cheekily at Kyungsoo's stunned looked before continuing.

"I mean it's not like I told her that you're into them. All I said was that you're free this weekend and you know the poor girl likes you, so what are you waiting for?" He asked rhetorically, raising a smooth eyebrow.

Kyungsoo was torn. On one hand, his fan side was screaming and jumping with joy. Free fan tickets, it's like the fates were smiling at him. On the other hand, his logical side was shaking its head and saying that this was a bad idea.

He wasn't stupid, he knew about Joonhee's crush on him and unfortunately he didn't feel the same. The other girl was cute, with her wavy hair, chubby cheeks and an even sweeter personality but his feelings for her were brotherly at most. If only he could let her down without shattering her heart completely, that would be nice. Breaking her heart would be downright mean but he refused to lead her on. She didn't need to know about his preference but that didn't mean he was planning on getting her hopes up for no reason.

Now that he thought about it...going to a fan sign with a girl would be much less embarrassing than going by himself. It would look like he was there for his friend and not for the group which was perfect.

So he found himself nodding along to Myungsoo's words.

"Alright then, I guess I'll go," he conceded calmly, pretending he wasn't heavily affected by this even though he wasn't fooling his friend one bit.

"Whatever, I know you're dying on the inside," the black haired boy rolled his eyes. "I'll leave you to fangirl in peace because I'm out of here," and he practically skipped out of the room, delightedly.

A soft smile passed Kyungsoo's lips as he watched him leave, mood elevated from the good news. He'd actually get to see Exo up close? Maybe he was dreaming.

In his twenty two years of living, he'd never really striked lucky. In fact, it was almost as though the universe was out to get him. As a child, he'd be the last to get picked for games, the first to get his work copied and not exactly the winner of any prizes throughout his education.

It was quite unfortunate how plain he was. No one really paid attention to him and his ability to blend in was almost unbelievable. Not that he minded, not really. Being a world class handsome man, with the features of a chiseled model, was not something he'd ever inspired to be. Even though a respectable height would be nice, he wouldn't say no to that. Unfortunately he'd inherited his father's short genes but by now he was used to it and had all of his cooking ingredients on the middle shelf instead of the top ones that were only made for "stupid giants" rather than the general population.

Staying in the background made his life a lot easier and the anonymity he possesed was something that bought him great relief, unlike Myungsoo who was well known by quite possibly the entire student body.

He picked up his phone once again, his black phone case glinting in the light. Black was one hundred percent Kyungsoo's favourite colour of all time. It was probably the colour of his soul too. Almost everything he owned was black or somehow had black in it. Bedroom walls, pillow, bedsheets, earphones, most of his clothes, shoes etc. The list was practically endless.

Other colours didn't even compare to it so he never felt the need to buy different clothes, even in hot weather. This also meant that he often looked scarily goth like and unapproachable - a fact which secretly made him smile. It wasn't his fault people tended to judge others on outer appearances rather than getting to know them first. It also wasn't his fault his eye sight sucked, big time.

Was it a fault in society or simply down to human nature? Oh well. He shrugged, looking back at his last Instagram notification.

Kai wasn't following many people, he noted as he scrolled through the small list of names, most of who were his bandmates. And that was what was weird. Why out of all the people who's photos he saw and never followed, why did he click the follow button for his little meagre account?

It was almost weird, so weird that Kyungsoo would actually wholeheartedly believe it if someone told him that the idol had been hacked.

He kept pondering this idea until he noticed all the notifications flooding his screen, like bullets. One by one. There were new comments on his last post and he couldn't help himself from reading them. Even though something at the back of his mind told him seriously not to, curiosity was hard to by pass.

 _@D.O_Kyungsoo_  
Arghh, what does Kai oppa even see in you? You look boring loool

 _@D.O_Kyungsoo_  
Lmao I love your captions, you're funny  <3

 _@D.O_Kyungsoo_  
Stay away from Kai! Understand?!

 _@D.O_Kyungsoo_  
Oppa, I really like your stirring technique when you're baking. Please upload more videos for more useful tips. Thank you.

All the other comments were similar, either bashing him for even remotely being related to Kai or genuinly liked his page and wanted him to know that.

He wasn't a sensitive person in the slightest so the hate didn't bother him but it was a bit annoying that some of these so called 'fans' couldn't even respect their idol's decisions and felt overly defensive.

"Tch, keyboard warriors," he muttered under his breath before clicking on the home page of the app.

In life some people would hate you and others might love you. You couldn't get it one way or the other, there had to be some some sort of balance. Expecting everyone to love you would be a bit ridiculous and far fetched. This was something he realised at a young age.

Growing up with an older brother, who took pleasure in picking on him daily, did make him very hard skinned and difficult to hurt. He supposed that Seungsoo did help him in some way but that didn't lessen the hurt from when he was a child at a point where the verbal jeers started to get to him.

_Kyungsoo -- Age 8_

_Little Kyungsoo was extremely short for his age; with his big eyes and nerdy love for books, he was the target of bullying in and outside his own house._

_"Hey it's the bug eyed freak! Get him guys!"_

_Someone shouted from the other side of the hallway and suddenly he was surrounded by a group of boys who were much larger and taller than him._

_One of them grabbed his book bag and tipped it over, another picked him up by his neck and slammed him into a locker. This caused him to let out a groan of pain and the group laughed._

_This was almost a daily occurance. Some days it didn't get physical but most days it did and there was no one that helped him, ever. Teachers turned a blind eye and other classmates occasionally joined in. After a while he stopped expecting to be saved and learned to wait for them to get tired. It wasn't like his skinny arms are capable of inflicting harm so what was the point?_

_But Do Kyungsoo never cried or spoke a word to them. That infuriated them even more. So the bullying got worse and worse. The worst of all of it - his brother was the ring leader._

_He was a year older than him and personally made sure that the doe eyed boy never experienced happiness in or outside of school._

_Comments like, "Hey loser, clean up my mess before mum comes back," and "If it isn't my midgit of a bother...sorry brother," were very common in their household._

_Knowing that no one, teachers or parents, was on his side, he kept his mouth shut and tried to get through each day. Of course the comments did hurt and for a long time he would stare at his reflection and understand why they made fun of him. Understand that he wasn't worth much and deserved all the terrible treatment that came his way._

_Seungsoo was taller and larger than him and wasn't afraid to get physical with him. His parents wouldn't listen whenever he complained to them and in the end, he just stopped trying._

He lived like that until he was lucky enough to get into university and leave that hell hole while 'their precious little angel' still resides at home, inbetween jobs and a general bum but that didn't make his parents any less proud. Every short conversation he had with his parents, once every few months, of course involved a section of bragging about his brother's incredibly less than impressive achievements.

But the lessons he learnt there would stay with him forever.

Now he was an adult and although he grew up to be quite confident, the scars and bitterness over his brother remained. Honestly, he doubted they would ever have a healthy relationship.

As they grew older, the more Kyungsoo started ignoring him and became comfortable his own skin, the less Seungsoo picked on him. Preferring instead to go out with his equally stupid friends and bully people who were apparently "more fun". One day, he'd look back at his life and regret it all, Kyungsoo knew. And truthfully, he couldn't wait. Call it sadistic but he honestly couldn't.


	2. Deviation

A week later, Kyungsoo and Joonhee were queuing up at the Exo fanmeet. They were almost at the front of the queue and couldn't believe their luck. They were both physically within reach from their idols and in a few minutes, would be face to face.

Joonhee had bought a poster with all of their faces on it and was looking forward to getting it signed by all the members, especially her favourite member, Park Chanyeol, who she was ogling unabashedly right now.

Kyungsoo on the other hand, had bought their most recent album and his heart was beating erratically. It felt like it was going to fall out of his chest with the pressure it was under. Unfortunately for them, a red haired girl who looked about fourteen pushed Joonhee with an aggressive force that caused her to tumble back.

She was wearing a bright pink mini skirt and tank top coupled with, out of place ridiculously high, high heels. The girl then proceeded to overtake them in the line causing his mood to flare up. Rudely overtaking when they had all waitied for a long time was one thing, hurting his friend was another.

He cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes and she turned around with a mock confused expression.

"Move, now," he growled, attracting the attention of a few other fans near them. The redhead raised an eyebrow defiantly.

"No."

She turned back around. At this point, people were whispering and making a general ruckus that caused a security guard to look at them with a glare.

"You pushed in the line while everyone else in this queue has been waiting their turn fairly. The fact that you think you deserve special privileges and that you're above waiting in line is absolutely disgusting. What's worse is, instead of admitting your mistakes and returning to your original space, here you are bothering me with your hideous hair and even uglier attitude. So, I'm going to give you three seconds to get out of my sight and right back to where you originally came from. Three...two..." he counted down in a flat, unimpressed voice and her eyes widened fearfully and she started backing away until he couldn't see her anymore.

The girls behind him started cheering and one of them loudly stated, "Thanks man, she pushed in front of everyone from the back of the line but no one said anything,"

"It was nothing, I personally can't stand people like that and what she was doing was morally wrong," he smiled back awkwardly, not used to dealing with praise and gratitude.

"Thanks Kyungsoo," Joonhee bashfully thanked him, nibbling on her lower lip.

"Don't worry about it," he mumbled and before he knew it he was at the front of the line with Joonhee right behind him. The person at the front of the line was Chen which brought a smile to his face.

His cheekbones were much more prominent in real life then they were on camera, he noticed as he smiled at the singer. Chen gave him a wide, cheery grin that reached eyes and waved even though he was stood right in front of him.

Kyungsoo internally sighed, he'd been a bit worried that they'd be a lot more celebrity-like and unfriendly in real life. It was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders and now he felt guilty for ever assuming that they would be any different. He squeezed down the urge to scream in his face and instead bought out his CD and placed it on the table.

"So, who's your bias?"

Chen asked cheekily, and Kyungsoo didn't know whether the other was joking or genuinly curious so he settled for a shy, "You..." and avoided eye contact.

He was glad he looked up after a few seconds though because the idol looked like he'd been told that he'd just won a free holiday for his entire family to Hawaii.

"That's so cool! I rarely get male fans," he pouted childishly but didn't look overly upset, "they all get hoarded by Chanyeol. But this is good because it means I won't forget you. Say... what's your name?"

His eyes zeroed in on the raven's face, as if memorising his features and taking his promise seriously. His heart was thumping so hard, adrenaline was coursing through his body at a crazy rate. This was his _bias._ His bias had just told him that he wouldn't forget him. If this was all an evil dream and he'd wake up in his box room he wouldn't know what to do. It seemed real at least. Chen's kindness was one of the reasons he stanned him so hard, the 'Chendrella' stories were all one-hundred percent true, the man was a living angel who needed to be protected.

"Do Kyungsoo," he responded softly.

"Kyungsoo? Well it was nice to meet you Kyungsoo, I hope we see each other again soon," he gave him one more impish grin and handed him his album back with a wink.

"Me too...I really like your voice. You're really talented, fighting," he mumbled, walking away and smiling for the first time since speaking to the friendly idol.

Honestly, meeting the other members was quite a blur but they were all so polite and sincere that Kyungsoo was slightly lost for words the entire time. Baekhyun was still just as funny, making almost everyone who spoke to him relax and smile.

Tao's Korean was too adorable for words. It was definitely understandable that was for sure but his unaware and innocent, face coupled with his breathy voice and panda eyes made it almost cruel to laugh at.

Kris was definitely a handsome man that was for sure. Cameras, photos, videos, it seemed like nothing did him justice. Even sat down you could tell he was much taller than most of the others and unlike Chanyeol who looked lanky, he had a regal air about him. Something in the way he carried himself that made him stand out tremendously and the six foot frame fit him perfectly rather than looking off.

Even while greeting him, there was a grace that he was obviously born with and developed over the years and Kyungsoo hoped that one day, he too world hold himself with such confidence as well.

Lay and Suho were incredibly polite to all the fans who greeted them and their genuine smiles didn't disappear for a moment.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol were sat next to each other and were cracking jokes left right and centre. The two didn't have a a single serious moment with any of their fans but Kyungsoo liked that, they made the environment comfortable.

As a perpetually awkward person sometimes, their sense of humour removed any nervous pauses. One of the funniest moments was seeing Chanyeol's face when Kyungsoo told him that his bias was Chen and not him. Even a few of the fans around him started laughing.

Sehun and Xiumin were less talkative than everyone but he still managed to strike up a conversation with them. There were times he wanted to pinch himself because this all seemed too good to be real.

After what seemed like ages, he parked himself in front of Kim Jongin which was a lot more nerve wracking than he thought. If he thought Kris was handsome, Jongin was perfect.

His blond hair was windswept along his forehead and covered his eyebrows. They were promoting 'Monster' and the hair colour was really agreeing with him. He had a jawline that quite possibly, cut through glass. It was so defined for someone his age, that it made his mind look older than Kyungsoo when he wasn't. The raven checked (stalked) and was surprised to find out that the popular idol was a year younger than him. His beautifully tanned skin and plump lips were almost sinful, especially when he licked them every few seconds.

The two didn't say anything for a few seconds and just stared until Jongin broke the eye contact by pointing out, "Hey, you're that guy on Instagram!" he looked pleased at his deduction if the wide smile was anything to go by.

"Um, yeah," Kyungsoo responded blandly, cursing his social skills mentally. He had two modes, moody or awkward. There was no inbetween.

"That's really cool, I mean, your captions are quite funny. I can't believe I saw you online and now you're here," Jongin continued, raising  his eyebrows as if he too was surprised at the odds of that happening.

Kyungsoo opened his mouth for the first time to say something more than two words  "Well...I like a lot of your older stuff, don't give up on singing no matter what anyone says alright?" He advised, looking at the dancer seriously. He knew that although Jongin was well known for his dancing, not many people seemed to praise him for his vocal abilities.

"You really think so? Thanks D.O!" Jongin's cheeks were turning noticeably pink and so Kyungsoo almost missed the nickname that he'd been assigned. Almost.

"D.O?" He questioned, eyebrows raised curiously.

"Your Instagram name is D.O and I dunno, it suits you I guess,"

Jongin fumbled for words making Kyungsoo realise, much to his pleasure, that the idol was just as socially awkward as him. He would pump the air in joy if he could.

"Really? No one's called me that before..." he trailed off, not really knowing what to say. The younger of the two seemed to remember where they were, almost jolting out of his seat.

"So you're a fan huh?" There was a brief pause, "Well..let me sign your album, instead of wasting your time then," the blond boy sheepishly grinned, taking the Exo album out of the older boy's limp grasp and scrawling his autograph over his face.

The smoothness at which he signed his name and the soft smile he adopted while holding the pen prevented Kyungsoo from looking away. It was almost as if his eyes temporarily disconnected from his brain and he couldn't think of anything to say. He had almost unhuman qualities about him. No wonder so many people were entranced by the dancer. Was this how all fans felt after meeting a famous person face to face? But the dancer really was breathtaking, and that _tan_...he could write poetry about how ethereal he looked and Kyungsoo wasn't a poet so that was saying something.

"Thank you for signing my album," he said politely when the Exo member handed him his item and walked away before the other could reply.

Great, now that the other boy realised how boring he actually was in real life - he'd probably never speak to him again. _Why oh why did he go to this meet?_ Maybe online he had a chance to seem cool, but all of that was nonexistent when it came to him face to face. What if Jongin thought he was interesting based on his posts and now that illusion was shattered?

If he had looked back he would have seen Jongin's penetrating stare focused on him even when he was talking to other fans.

If Kyungsoo didn't have as much pride as he did, he'd act like how he did at home but he didn't want any of the members or Joonhee being aware of his real feelings so he kept his distance. All it would take was one word from her and he'd be the butt of all the jokes that their friends would no doubt think hilarious. Did that seem enjoyable? Not in the slightest.

His university life wasn't shaping up to be great. Honestly the only person he could truly be himself around was Myungsoo and admitting that saddens him. The more he know someone and the more comfortable he felt around them, the less polite he was and the more blunt and rude he was. But other than Myungsoo, no one else had that kind of real friendship with him and before that it had been no one.

 

\--

 

The bus ride home wasn't the most pleasant for Kyungsoo. Joonhee wouldn't stop rambling about the fansign and honestly, he didn't have the patience to fake interest. Instead, he settled for staring out of the window while she continued, oblivious to the fact that he wasn't listening to a word that was coming out of her mouth.

"And then Chanyeol oppa held my hand lovingly and told me that I was really pretty. I almost died Kyungsoo. He's just so sweet, I knew he'd be but still. Afterwards he wrote me a message but I won't read it out because I want it to be special. You understand, don't you?" She said in one breath, tugging on his arm when he wouldn't answer her question.

"Er..yeah," he responded slowly, praying that it was the right thing to say. Usually when he wasn't listening to someone and they asked him a question, he learnt that saying 'yes' was more often the correct answer.

"You didn't really seem into them," she pointed out sharply, as if making an offensive statement. Which he kinda agreed it was, I mean who I their right mind wouldn't like Exo?

Instead he settled for, "No, I like some of their songs and they seem like all right guys," in calm voice that even he was surprised didn't falter once.

"All right?" She scoffed.

"God, you're so unemotional Soo. You remind me of a human robot sometimes I swear."

The object of her jibe didn't even turn around from the spot he wasn't looking for. They were on the bus journey home and it was one that was shaping up to be quite long. He sighed as they passed another fried chicken shop and his stomach growled quite loudly, causing his brown haired friend to turn around mid rant.

"Er..sorry," he felt compelled to apologise for his beastly body and planned to get something to eat after getting home. One thing that it definitely wouldn't be tonight was ramyun. Any other night it would be fine,  but tonight after seeing so many chicken pictures there was only one thing in his mind.

"It's fine. You hungry?"

"No," he lied through his teeth, not that it was unbelievable. He was a great liar, too good in fact and in another world he'd be an actor but that would be a whole other life. He'd had to be though, from lies about how he got bruised up daily during his childhood and reasons for coming home late during his teen years. When he wanted to convince someone about something he would and it was a skill that no one had ever commented on. She was convinced and just nodded, resuming with her earlier rant and taking a mile a minute. Women, his mind reminded, were very different from men.

As a gentleman should, he walked her to her dorm. The one she shared with a bratty rich girl called Jung Krystal with a hidden heart of gold that she only displayed to her long term girlfriend - a popular third year called Amber. She was extremely beautiful but anyone who even dare approach her was gifted with a first to the face and public humiliation. Not exactly pretty things.

Apparently the girl was constantly inviting people over and throwing parties that kept her awake at unreasonable hours. Krystal was rarely home but when she was, it was difficult for Joonhee.

The only reason he didn't feel more sorry for her was because he knew that she herself wasn't exactly an angel to live with. With her talkative ways and controlling nature, clearly they were meant for each other. He got lucky with Myungsoo; whenever he heard some people's horrible experiences with roommates he became more and more grateful for his friend.

After dropping off the short brown haired girl, he walked the short walk back to his dorm only to be greeted with the sight of his best friend sprawled across the couch and in just boxers. Tight white boxers and a scrawny body he could have lived a great life without ever seeing.

"Arhh! My eyes," he exclaimed loudly, covering his eyeballs dramatically. It was as if it was the first time he was seeing this, it wasn't.

"You know Soo, there comes times in a man's short life when he feels as if though clothes are a hassle. Right now, this is my moment," Myungsoo stated conversationally and almost eagerly, as if he wasn't almost butt naked.

"I have absolutely no desire to see your pale ass body. I don't think you realise but clothes are _necessary_ and socially expected," he snarked, half growling as he eyed his roommate's smug smirk.

"Not even a little? You hurt me Soo. You're making me out to look like some sort of monster. I'm not that bad to look at!" Myungsoo shrieked, voice taking on a higher octave that made the raven realise he'd hit a soft spot.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Sungyeol doesn't think you're an eyesore," he rolled his eyes at the other boy's dramatic sigh of relief.

"You really think so? Well I guess I _can_ put some clothes on," he strolled casually in the direction of his cupboard. "But only if you keep the compliments rolling Kyunggie," and stopped right after opening the door and looked over at Kyungsoo expectantly, waiting for something.

"I'm going to buy takeaway, if you want to eat some you better be dressed like a civilised human being by the time I come back," the short boy threatened, knowing that Myungsoo was weak when it came to anything unhealthy. The handsome boy's eyes widened and he began scrambling for clothes at an alarming yet amusing rate. The first thing was a long sleeved shirt that he appeared to be physically fighting with. He ended up looking like one big mess trying to force his long arms through each hole at record speed, which unfortunately wasn't working out so well.

"Take your time, loser. The food isn't going to teleport here right this second," he laughed at the funny picture Myungsoo painted before walking out an taking the keys with him.

It was getting quite dark and the air was slightly chilly, luckily he was wearing a baggy hoodie and some black skinny jeans, not that he owned jeans in any other colour. The walk to 'Chicken Galore' was not a long one but he preferred going out to ordering in. Not to mention, going out at night time was his favourite time because one, it meant that there were less people out and two, it meant that there were less people out. The streets were practically empty of all living souls and the only thing he could hear was the music blasting from his earphones. The serenity was marvellous.

Right now, it was on shuffle but Zion T's Yanghwa Bridge was putting him in a decidedly good mood.

He approached the heavy door of the shop and pulled it open. The owner, a kind old man who was familiar with Kyungsoo, greeted him brightly.

"Kyungsoo! Where have you been the last few weeks? Sit down son, do you want your usual order?" He asked rapidly, getting ready to fry the poultry in front of him when he nodded in reply. The takeaway place was family owned and Kyungsoo had been going there for a while now, hence the familiarity. But the owner was this friendly to most of his customers and remembered them since the store wasn't a very popular one.

This was one of the reasons he regularly frequented the place though. It was quite homey with soft leather brown seats and dark red walls with dragon designs on the wallpaper. There were only two customers in the shop with him; one of them was a lady who was given a bag containing her food, the other was a man a few tables away who appeared to be stuffing his face with chicken at an alarming rate. The doe eyed boy had never seen anyone eat like that in his life.

The man, like him, was wearing a dark hoodie coupled with a cap that covered half of his face from view as his practically inhaled his food. It wasn't as repulsive as you would think however, as he made it look somehow normal. Human even, a feat that deserved a medal.

He couldn't take his eyes off of him, as if he was under some sort of spell. No this wasn't mere curiosity, this was something else. Just as he was about to look away however, the other man, who's rough age he guessed to be somewhere in his mid twenties, looked up.

They both froze, maintaining eye contact for a few seconds and it seems that was all Kyungsoo needed to realise one thing.

Sitting a few metres in front of him was the superstar Kim Jongin.

A superstar who was looking at him with the same dumbfounded expression that he was no doubt mirroring.


	3. Delirious

Kim Jongin swallowed the chicken that he'd been chewing as time seemed to freeze. He had some grease around his mouth which made his lips look unnaturally shiny and ridiculously attractive, Kyungsoo couldn't turn away. It was almost as if his neck muscles were no longer connected to his brain.

"Kai?" the urge to rub his eyes was strong, increbily strong. Kim Jongin's love for chicken was legendary, all exo-ls new this but this was unexpected. His words echoed across the small restaurant, not that it mattered since no one was there. It seemed like celebrities also had lives, Kyungsoo mused. They just preferred to go out when they knew they wouldn't be seen. It seemed realistic though. Rather than getting mobbed.

The chances of bumping into someone famous was rare so clearly he didn't have an average person's luck. It seemed like him and Kim Jongin were somehow tied together. In the last few weeks he'd interacted with the boy more than some people get to do in their entire lives. It was nerve wracking since his mouth and brain were never linked during those times.

Jongin hurriedly wiped his lips with the back of his hand, the action made Kyungsoo wince. Maintaining cleanliness was something that he placed above most things and it looked like the younger star didn't share the same thoughts.

"Hi D.O," he smiled self consciously, playing with the rim of the plate. Kyungsoo was surprised that he was recognised. I mean, the guy had thousands of fans sites dedicated to him alone.

He thought that after the fan sign, he'd be erased from the dancers memory completely but he was proven wrong.

"You remember me?" He couldn't help asking incredulously, eyes widened with disbelief. At this point he was standing in front of the blond boy.

"Yeah...I mean sure. You have really unique features,"

The raven didn't know whether those words were said mockingly or not but he could hear those taunts from his childhood coming back, ringing in his head. 'Owl boy, fish lips and bug' were just the standard.

However Jongin didn't seem like a spiteful person so Kyungsoo didn't take offense. Instead he sat opposite the other boy while waiting for his order, not really knowing where to look. Looking at someone while they were eating was rude right? But then again, so was blatantly ignoring them. And he noticed that the blond had stopped eating completely.

"So you....like chicken?"

He mentally groaned at the conversation starter. This was the real reason he didn't have many friends. Not that he had minded before today. But now that his skills were put to the test, he found that he was lacking. Surprisingly the dancer laughed joyously at his stupid question.

"Definitely! Chicken is the best food in the world, perfect fried, boiled, roasted. I could live off it for days," he exclaimed, voice rising in pitch which showed Kyungsoo that he clearly wasn't lying. But was he allowed to eat it regularly, as an idol? It seemed like companies were strict with things like weight, maybe Jongin just had an extremely fast metabolism.

"Don't you have to eat healthy? To maintain a healthy weight and stuff?"

He was genuinely curious, and whenever he was he rapidly fired off questions one after the other.

The question may have been a little intrusive but Jongin just waved his hand, unconcerned.

"Sure you do but I don't gain weight very easily. Besides, what they don't know won't hurt them," he gave him a joking wink that relaxed the atmosphere immediately.

Kyungsoo at first assumed a lot about Jongin. Especially when it came to his personality. He'd thought that there would be an untouchable celebrity air around him or it would be hard to actually have a conversation with him. But he was completely wrong.

Kim Jongin had an easy going air around him followed by kind eyes that seemed to light up whenever he was excited. But moreover, Kyungsoo the recluse was actually contributing to a conversation.

That's right, he, Do Kyungsoo was actually conversing (quite successfully too) with someone that he had _technically_ met today. What had the world come to?

"So what to you study? You're in university right?" Jongin asked, taking a huge bite of a chicken leg after the question.

"Electrical Engineering," he answered curtly, voicing coming out a lot lower than he intended.

"Woah! That sounds difficult. I bet you must be really smart then," Jongin commented, sounding impressed taking another huge bite of his wing but keeping his attention focused sold on Kyungsoo.

"Not really, I always wanted to be a chef..." he trailed off, staring at a spot behind Jongin's shoulder while wondering why he'd just disclosed his lifelong dream to the other boy, "unfortunately, you need money to survive in this world and that includes getting a stable job," sighing and shrugging his shoulders, he saw that Jongin had paused mid chew and was looking at him with a thoughtful expression.

"I don't think so," he finally replied, after swallowing. "If you really love something, go for it whether or not it pays well. When I took up dancing no one supported me because they knew that the likelihood of me making it was low. But you know what? Even if I didn't make it, I'd still be happy cause I'd be doing what I love the most."

By the end of the passionate yet moving mini lecture, Jongin's face was slightly red and he looked a bit breathless. Looking at his conviction and convincing speech, Kyungsoo wondered if the younger was right.

As much as he enjoyed working with numbers, was he forsaking his happiness for at future that he wasn't really looking forward to.

One of his major reasons for taking that degree was so that in a few years he could go home and show his good for nothing family just how much he had achieved without them. But was that all for nothing? Were a few weeks (days, who was he kidding? Most likely years) of sadistic satisfaction worth a lifetime of boredom?

He didn't know. Not yet anyway.

"I don't know," he mumbled, unsure.

"Just think about it. On your instagram you've posted a lot of cooking stuff and it really suits you,"

Jongin sheepishly rubbed the back of his head when he realised that he gave away the fact that he watched numerous videos and actually remembered that they existed.

"Sorry...I can get a bit too caught up in things. I'm sure you don't need a lecture.." he laughed awkwardly, looking slightly ashamed of himself. He didn't blame him, they'd only met recently and he was already giving the older boy life advice. No one had ever done that before.

"No, I think you're right. If I'm not happy right now, what makes me think I will be in the future?" Kyungsoo nodded gently, his eyes reflecting his gratitude. No one had ever shown so much concern about what he wanted and to seeing that made his heart warm slightly.

The grin Jongin gave him in return almost made his heart jolt. He looked overjoyed, no...ecstatic. It made his eyes crinkle and revealed a row of shiny white teeth that left him feeling slightly awed. How could someone really look that breathtaking? While most of the world existed as mere mortals, you had people like Jongin whose looks would be enough to start wars in the past.

"That's great! You know--you're not like most fans I've spoken to. It feels like you don't even know who I am." His blunt words caused Kyungsoo to choke on thin air.

_Trust me, I'm a fan alright. The fact that I can recognise you all by ears, hands or legs proves that much already. And as for my YouTube history, well, nobody needs to know._

Kyungsoo thought ironically, mentally chuckling in his head and feeling grateful that Jongin couldn't read minds.

"Sorry, how do you want me to talk to you?" Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow, "Ohhh Kaiiii I love you so so so much, please tell me you love me back! That would mean the world to me and-" he would have kept going in that high pitched falsetto voice if Jongin wasn't laughing so hard that it looked like he couldn't breathe.

"Sto....stop. That's not what-..what I meant,"

The only reason they were both cracking up was because those were the exact words the girl in front of him in the line had said and that the words sounded ridiculous coming from the short boy. Once the laughter had died out Jongin spoke again.

"Leave them alone, some of them get over excited and nervous. But I meant that I'm glad that you don't really tip toe around me and talk to me like you would, you know.. a friend,"

"You're different from what I expected as well. I thought you'd be a lot more guarded and mysterious,"

"Aaand?" he leaned in to get a better hear.

"I was completely wrong. You're like a puppy,"

Jongin pouted at that, making him look a lot more like the small creatures, not that he minded he told Kyungsoo. Dogs were his favourite animals, if only he had more time to look after his own pets back home with his parents. He only got to see them once every few months due to his schedule which was disappointing, especially since they grow so fast. He should make more of an effort, especially considering dogs aged so fast.

"Kyungsoo, your food's done!" The owner called from the counter and Kyungsoo reluctantly stood up, not really interested in the food anymore. He nodded to Jongin, a gesture that could mean different things depending on the person. But in Kyungsoo speak, _it meant I'll be right back_. He was a simple guy.

He took all the bags and made small talk with the old man and paid for the monstrous amount of food that he would be pigging out on tonight.

He walked back to Jongin's table with the bags in tow and sat opposite the other man once again.

They started off with some small talk that led to multiple cheesy jokes (all from Jongin of course, Kyungsoo would never be seen telling bad jokes) that never failed to make the black haired boy smile and shake his head.

At the back of his mind, he knew that he had to go. The food was getting cold and Myungsoo was waiting for him. But he couldn't bring himself to leave Jongin's presence. Its like his body was being physically held in place.

Even when the sky got even darker and there wasn't anymore chicken on Jongin's plate, they kept talking.  About their favourite colours, hobbies, Exo members and anything else that they could think of.

"....and then Chanyeol hyung put the hair removal cream all over his head before getting in the shower and he screamed so loud when he washed it off. I still have the video," Jongin giggled, eyes full of mirth and mischief. Kyungsoo gaped in shock, Chanyeol must have been traumatised!

"And then what? Did he find out it was you and Sehun?" He wished that he could have witnessed it or that they'd post it online but understood why they didn't. It was way too embarrassing.

"No!" Jongin laughed even harder, slapping his thighs as he gripped the table, "he still suspects Baekhyun. He's so lucky that this happened before debut or he'd be dead,"

Kyungsoo couldn't help himself, he joined in. Imagining Chanyeol's horrified face and horrified wails.

"Damn it, I wish I could have seen it happen. You should have shared it, it would have been a hit,"

"I was planning to at first....but then," Jongin's eyes grew panicked and he leaned in, "he threatened to flush my Krong plushie down the toilet if I so much as showed anyone,"

"You like Pororo too?!" Kyungsoo squealed, his whole life, he'd never met a single adult other than him who watched the cartoon. This day kept getting better and better.

"Like it? I _love_ it," Jongin emphasised, voice taking on a dreamy quality.

"Same!" he shouted, practically bouncing on his seat.

"Really? I thought I was the only one. Everyone I know says it's for babies," he shrugged, sounding a little put off.

"Oh well, they're the ones missing out," Kyungsoo commented, numb to all the Pororo hating people in the world by now. The biggest one being Myungsoo. _Crap, Myungsoo._

His eyes widened. He didn't even register Jongin's enchanting laugh as he remembered his probably livid friend who was still waiting for him. By now, the other boy was probably assuming he had been murdered then dumped in a nearby trashcan.

He was known for being dramatic and Kyungsoo was definitely not looking forward to returning to his worried roommate and suffering his wrath.

"Shoot, I just remembered that my roommate's waiting for me at home. He's probably wondering where I am by now," he stood to get up, picking up his discarded bags with him, wished Jongin a goodnight and walked out. Jongin gave him an unsure wave just as he left the shop. It was a messy, uncoordinated one that didn't fail to make Kyungsoo smile. Cute. Kim Jongin was practically a seven year old in the body of a fully functioning adult.

In hindsight, he should have left in a nicer, less rushed way but he didn't. He was definitely more of an 'act now, think later' person. And now, while walking back to his room, he was thinking about it.

But hanging with Kim Jongin was wonderful. Talking to him was so different from talking to anyone else he knew. It was exhilarating, exciting and kept him alert the entire time. It was as if Jongin knew exactly what to say to get him out of his shell and actually relax.

Realistically speaking however, he knew that something like this would never happen again. He wasn't stupid. The boy was famous, untouchable and he was just normal. Not that he usually minded his plain self, but just being near Jongin made him feel lacking in so many aspects. It was as if the star oozed potential and power. And he didn't. There was no point lying to himself, that got a person nowhere in life.

  
No, this was definitely a one time thing and Kyungsoo should just cherish the memory of today for the rest of his life. After all, most fans never even got to see their idols up close much less have a full on conversation with them just flowed in all the right ways.


	4. Definitely

Kyungsoo trudged all the way home, with every step it felt like the bag was getting heavier. He wasn't even hungry anymore. Just as he put the key in the lock hole, the door opened wide to reveal Myungsoo's unimpressed face.

"So you are alive?" He asked sarcastically with an eyebrow raised.

"Sorry," Kyungsoo responded with a guilty grimace.

"You should be! It's been three hours. _Three_!"

Myungsoo waved three fingers in Kyungsoo's face, trying to emphasise his point.

"I got a little....sidetracked,"

Seeing his soft smile and distant eyes, his best friend's eyes widened hysterically.

"OH MY GOD!" He shouted, giving the shorter boy a do over before gaping, "you met someone."

He stated as a matter of fact, looking far too smug for the raven's liking. As close as they were, he didn't want to tell him about Jongin. Myungsoo would tell Sungyeol who would then tell everybody and Kyungsoo couldn't do that to to the idol and himself, mostly himself.

He wouldn't be responsible for the deaths that would occur should the fact that he spent part of the night with Exo's main dancer get out to the student population.

 _Part of the night_. Putting it that way it made it sound dirtier than it actually was. And it wasn't. Everything that happened was purely platonic, innocent and friendly. Why wouldn't it be?

1) Idols didn't flirt with their fans. Fans were off limits when it came to dating

2) They weren't even friends and they'd just met yesterday.

3) Jongin was straight. Obviously.

Myungsoo antics right now were more than a little dramatic.

"What? No. Meet who?" He asked, feigning stupidity in the deep voice he liked to call his actor voice. Not that anyone could tell that his voice changed slightly when he lied and it was a good thing too since it certified the fact that he was a great liar (not that it's something to brag about) but having the ability to stay calm in any situation coupled with being able to make things up on the spot and wham you had Kyungsoo.

It was a horrible trait really, he should stop. Not that he ever did.

"I don't know. You've got a happy smile on your face and you've been missing for what? Hours now," the taller boy reasoned with one eyebrow raised.

"Am I not allowed to smile?" Kyungsoo asked incredulously, "and I saw an old friend on the way home and time just flew by I guess," he chucked, keeping his voice completely even.

"You? Old friend?" Myungsoo looked confused, as if the prospect of him having friends was foreign not to mention, impossible. Kyungsoo would have been offended if it wasn't the truth, he could count the number of friends he'd had from childhood on one finger and one of them he was sure had been a pity friendship at the age of four that had lasted three days.

"Yeah," and they both knew the conversation had ended, Myungsoo dropped the issue and soon enough they were eating their chicken in front of a boring movie neither of them were particularly enjoying.

"Noooo.." he heard his roommate moan from his left, "she's using you bro, break up with her," he ordered while waving a chicken leg in the air as if the (in Kyungsoo's opinion) boring character in the film would some how hear him and reach an epiphany. Romantic comedies were so typical; they usually involved cheating, stupidity, drama and a typical happy ending that no one would be able to predict (definitely not).

 _Okay at least one of them was enjoying it,_ he thought as he side eyed his friend as he remained immersed in the cliché plot with relish. Although they were so different, Kyungsoo was so grateful to have a friend like him. His first ever real friend - who'd looked past the aloofness and borderline psychopathic tendencies.

He mentally apologised for lying about meeting someone who didn't exist while the other boy chuckled at another joke, looking over at him with an expectant look causing him to smile at his eagerness.

_We do this almost every week, when will he get tired of staring back at me whenever there's anything funny?_

Secretly though, Kyungsoo prayed that he never changed. The day Myungsoo didn't laugh loudly to his favourite film and explain the joke multiple times while poking him, would be the day all hell broke loose. Kyungsoo stared back at their cheap student TV, this film was definitely not his style. He preferred horror, thriller, crime and gore. When he wasn't watching people getting killed in gruesome ways (with a "creepy" smile on his face) he was watching sweet old ladies cook in cooking programs. The was no in between.

But since they lived together, they had a system to make it fair. Each week, one person had ownership of the remote. Sharing and compromise were two things that they'd gotten accustomed to and by now there were no fights and petty arguments that involved no one being able to 'find' the remote for days.

As if the universe could detect his despair and boredom, his phone buzzed. It could be anything but with Kyungsoo's social life it was most likely junk mail that would be promptly deleted.

_Kai_ss shared a picture_

He clicked on the direct message notification from Instagram and saw a photo of a cute looking dog and a caption 'get home safe? :) '

He smiled at the text before responding.

_**D.O_Kyungsoo** _

Yeah, you?

  ** _Kai_ss_**

awesome. yh i mean chanyeol hyung's sleepin on the top bunk & his snores cld wake up a nation.

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

Damn, can't sleep?

**_Kai_ss_ **

nah im fine. prcticlly immune by now  
helps tht im a heavy sleeper tho :D

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

You're lucky, I'm such a light sleeper that it's beginning to effect my quality of life. Which sucks because it means that I know exactly when Myungsoo opens up the fridge for his 'midnight snacks'

**_Kai_ss_ **

haha tht does suck, but u only have 1 rm8  
i share a drm with 10 other guys  
aka midnght diet cheating, the stench of sweat & the lack of privacy r all things u qckly get used 2.

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

Alright, I guess you win. My problems definitely don't compare to yours oh great one!

**_Kai_ss_ **

nice 2 kno my suffering isnt being taken 4 granted :p

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

Lol it isn't

**_Kai_ss_ **

gd!

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

So...what are you up to?

**_Kai_ss_ **

txting u lool

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

Oh really? I didn't notice...

**_Kai_ss_ **

haha u didn't huh  
jst lookin at funny memes & dreading rehearsal tomorro

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

For your new comeback?

**_Kai_ss_ **

wouldn't u like 2 kno? ;)

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

I was only asking to be polite. Your comeback's on October 15th.

**_Kai_ss_ **

damn it, i underestimated u again lmao  
wuu2 then?

  ** _D.O_Kyungsoo_**

You seem to keep doing that :/ just watching a movie with my roommate and eating takeaway

**_Kai_ss_ **

im jealous i cld go 4 more chicken right nw :(( ooh wat film?

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

Talk about bottomless. John Tucker Must Die...

**_Kai_ss_ **

i love tht film :D

heyy its chicken! it dsnt count!

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

Same here

**_Kai_ss_ **

we shld totally hang out thn!  
hav a movie nght, esp since wer friends now c:

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

We are?

**_Kai_ss_ **

 

well its nt like were strangers...

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

True. Then yeah we should definitely hang out, it sounds like fun

**_Kai_ss_ **

awesome! ill txt u wen im free after checking my schedule ^_^

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

Alright then

 

  
Kyungsoo put his phone back in his pocket and sneaked a peak at his distracted friend and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was still complaining at the TV.

If you asked him why he lied about liking high school romcoms (which he actually loathed mind you) he would say he didn't know. He didn't want Jongin knowing that unlike him, Kyungsoo would much rather be watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the fifteenth time. He didn't want to scare away his new 'friend'. That's what Jongin had called him and he had no idea why but he couldn't deny how happy the title made him.

"It's finished, you can stop squinting at the screen now," Myungsoo's amused voice brought him out of his musings.

"I was not squinting," he protested, knowing that it was a lie. Stupid astigmatism. The world would be a much fairer place if everyone was blessed with good vision, but obviously that wasn't the case.

"Just wear your glasses,"

"No"

A sigh.

"Why?"

"And watch this shit in HD quality? No thanks," he grumpily muttered causing Myungsoo to laugh.

"Whatever,"

The other boy proceeded to stretch his legs and place them on Kyungsoo's lap, yawning as he did so.

"If you don't get off of me, so help me God..." he trailed off, finding it hard to sound threatening when the other boy looked so peaceful when he slept. Nothing like his usual annoying self.

Instead he untangled himself and picked up the discarded boxes on the floor, putting them in the bin.

 

\--

 

The next day at university he was sitting in his 9am lecture, notebook in hand, glasses on and ready to learn Mathematics II. Fun. But whispers from the row in front of him caught his attention.

"Did you hear.....Kai and Yoona were confirmed to be dating this morning...."

"Oh my god! I was so surprised! But they actually make such a cute couple don't you think?"

"Yeah! They're both so good looking and perfect, they're so suited for each other,"

SNAP!

Their heads twisted at the sound as they turned to glare at him.

He was momentarily confused until he looked down and saw that his pen (favourite pen, the best one he owned in fact) was now in two pieces. Two useless pieces. If you asked him how and why that happened he wouldn't know.

Kai and Yoona? Kai and _Yoona_ _?_

It made logical sense it really did, they were both successful, rich, talented and well matched. He could picture them going to classy events as the SNSD member giggled at Jongin's dorkiness. Or maybe he wouldn't show that side to her, maybe he'd be incredibly suave and confident, making her swoon and fall for him further.

Perhaps his awkward laugh and terrible jokes were only revealed in the presence of friends and not attractive girls with beautiful, long hair and soft voices. And that was good for him, Kyungsoo was happy for him, really.

So he tuned his ears to the old professor's voice, wishing that mechanics was more interesting than the hands on the clock that were currently ticking at a constant velocity.

"Any questions?" Doctor Kang asked at the end of the lecture, as usual. And as usual most students just began packing up but there was usually one student who asked him questions and although teachers aren't meant to have favourites, he couldn't help but favour the one student who listened attentively and seemed to have a strong passion for his course.

He wished all his students that walked through those doors could share this love.

"Yes Mark."

"Sir, I was wondering when our next group project will be set."

Some people's eyes lit up at the prospect of group work whereas other's looked even more fed up.

"Ah yes, you'll be put in seperate groups of three for your next seminar and the project makes up thirty percent of your grade so for the love of all things sacred, please take this seriously,"

He smiled at little sadistically at the collective groans as the hall began to empty out.

He already had a rough idea of some of the people he wanted working together. The idea to put his most passionate student with the least was one that he'd been sitting on for a while.

In the month that they would work together there would be no doubt that they'd learn something from each other. Yes, Kyungsoo and Mark would go well together.

Now he needed some sort of buffer. Someone laid back, someone who could stop tensions rising and things getting out of hand. Maybe Daehyun? But Daehyun did have a tendancy to goof around sometimes and the other two were both definitely the serious sort.

And then the idea came to him suddenly. Why not Min Yoongi? Yes, the calm, sleepy boy was perfect as the final member of the group.

He was looking forward to seeing the changes that would take place.

This might just end up blowing up in his face but he'd sensed Do Kyungsoo's distaste for his subject from the beginning and he was worried that his young student would only become more and more unhappy. He needed something to spark his interest in the field and to make friends with the people on his course and then maybe he'd stop coming into the hall like a soldier ready for interrogation and torture. His lectures weren't that bad were they?

 

\--

 

After the seminar Kyungsoo, Yoongi and Mark sat down at a cozy little cafe near the university campus. It wasn't rush hour so it was quite empty except a few people here and there. Perfect environment for them to talk as a group for the first time.

None of them were particularly loud so it was silent beverage sipping for the most part of their get together.

Mark had ordered an iced americano, Kyungsoo bought a macchiato and Yoongi was gulping down his black expresso with a speed that suggested he may not be entirely human. Possibly robot. At least he wasn't drinking hot chocolate, people that drank hot chocolate couldn't be trusted. That's just the way life is.

"So where should we meet up to actually do this project?" Yoongi asked.

"Let's do it at mine," Mark offered and Kyungsoo mentally breathed a sigh of relief, "I've got a roommate but he won't mind and it's pretty spacious and clean,"

"Perfect," Kyungsoo responded, taking a slow sip.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me," Yoongi added, nodding.

They exchanged phone numbers and Mark proceed to make a group chat naming it "Mechanics Project" and they all parted ways, planning to meet up again in two days.

While he was walking on the way back his phoned pinged and he slowly fished it out of his jeans pocket. He'd chosen to wear tight black jeans and an equally black jacket with a cap that made him look like a typical mugger, his favorite style. Wearing bright colours was not his thing, some people liked them though and that was fine. For example Mark's cotton candy coloured hair and yellow donut jumper showed that. Yoongi was a mix of the two of them though, with his mint coloured hair and slate grey clothes.

He was faced with the screen lock, a picture of his favourite cartoon character staring up at him as he typed in his password - his date of birth. Yeah it was lame and typical but why not? It was easy to remember, not cheesy and it wasn't like he had anything to hide.

Besides, unlike loads of people, he could count the number of people that remembered the date of his birth with one hand (and that was pushing it). Just as he clicked the app he was suddenly face to face with Jongin's text message.

**_Kai_ss_ **

im free on friday.. r u?

 

Kyungsoo typed an instant reply, not caring that his pride demanded at least a ten minute wait until responding. He was so over seeming cool in front of Kim Jongin. It's not like there was a point, the younger liked fart jokes for goodness sake. You couldn't get more uncool than that.

 

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

Yeah. Its my day off. What are we doing?

**_Kai_ss_ **

gna wtch the film  
is ur dorm ok?

 

A jolt of panic went through him. Just imagining Kim Jongin at his small place, eating his food and sitting on his chairs was enough to give him heart pain. It also made I'm want to pinch himself because how could that even be physically possible. But logically it was the only way. Going to his was so much easier, more quiet and offered more privacy.

 

**_D.O_Kyungsoo_ **

Sure it is. See you on Friday then

**_Kai_ss_ **

:D

 

Now he had an apartment to clean (it was already clean, just not to idol visiting your home standards), a roommate to shoo away and a week to kill.


	5. Deliberately

Two days later and he and Yoongi were making their way towards Mark's shared apartment. They stopped in front of a tall building in a decent neighborhood that was a twenty-minute walk away from university. Mark took out his keys from his back pocket and tapped it on to the security block outside, letting the three of them in immediately. After swinging the heavy door, they were faced with a set of identical elevators and a door leading to the stairs. As the pink haired boy made his way towards the door, Yoongi cleared his throat and shook his head.

"There is no way I'm taking the stairs when there are two lifts right here. Are they broken or something?" He asked incredulously, as if he was unable to believe that people would willingly take stairs.

"No, they work fine," Mark responded with a furrow of his eyebrows and Yoongi exhaled, looking visibly relieved at the information.

"Thank God. What floor are you on?" the question was fired as the other student brushed past him.

He began to tap the button for the lifts repeatedly and it took a few seconds of them watching the monitor for one of them make its way from the thirteenth floor to the ground one.

"Ninth," Mark muttered, looking guilty and Kyungsoo's eyes widened at the revelation. How had he expected them to walk up nine flights of stairs? His gym hating self would have perished by the third and he didn't know about Yoongi's fitness levels but the other boy's reaction suggested that they were probably on the same boat. They lived in the modern world which meant that people like them thrived. Besides, what was the use for these kind of facilities if people weren’t using them?

"Ninth?" Yoongi's voice slightly rose in pitch, "now that's just evil," and he looked at Mark accusingly, "were you gonna tell us now or when we died halfway?"

Mark had the decency to look slightly embarrassed as they entered the elevator. He pressed the button for their floor and answered Yoongi's rhetorical question.

"Sorry, I've just gotten so used to taking the stairs that the lift wasn't even an option in my head. Besides, my roommate's obsessed with exercise and its rubbed off on me I guess," he explained with a grimace and the elevator doors began to open.

"It's fine, let's just go," Kyungsoo cut in, wanting this conversation to be over and Mark breathed a sigh of relief. The long corridor of apartments was incredibly quiet and Mark led them to the end, inserting his keys into the keyhole and opening the front door. His key ring was decorated with smileys and other accessories that made the whole thing rattle while he held it.

They had an open plan apartment so the living room and kitchen were both open towards one another. Like they'd been told before, the place was truly quite spacious with no junk lying around and the marble counters were completely bare. White, new looking walls that created a clean presence. He liked it, he’d been worried that he wouldn’t like it and would be tempted to start cleaning the place.

They had one three seater black couch facing a single television and on it, was sitting someone who was presumably the roommate. He had a heavy looking dumbbell in one hand, a TV remote in the other and was casually doing curls with a look of intense concentration on his face. Concentration that broke when his gaze settled on the newcomers.

"Marky! You're back? These your partners?" He asked, gaze fixed on the two. Bowing, he gave them a cheery grin that brightened up his face, "Hey, I'm Mark's roommate and best friend Jackson! Nice to meet you."

Kyungsoo and Yoongi both introduced themselves to the friendly boy, not noticing Mark's eye roll at the title. They sat down on the couch as the black haired, Hong Kong native began to move his sweaty exercise clothes.

"Best friend? Are we five? Stop using that term," he scolded resignedly and Jackson pouted a little, looking disheartened.

"Fine, from now on Jaebum's my best friend and you've been demoted," he petulantly crossed his arms and Mark frowned.

"What do you mean demoted? I've done nothing wrong, stop being dramatic Jackson," he sighed when he saw a familiar, stubborn glint in roommate's eyes, "All right, we're best friends, the bestest..." he grimaced at the cheesy words but it seemed to make the raven haired boy brighten and bound towards him.

"Knew you'd see things my way. Besides, between us guys things like this are fine," he reached out and put his arm on Mark's shoulder leisurely, "I'm off to get some coffee with my friend Jaebum. I'll catch you guys later you're still around, it was nice meeting you," he gave them a wave and suavely winked at his pink haired friend, who looked noticeably annoyed at the mention of Jaebum yet again.

As soon as he left, the walls began to ring with something Kyungsoo hadn't felt since entering. Silence. Both he and Yoongi were sat on the couch and Mark was rubbing the back of his neck self consciously.

"Sorry about that guys, Jackson can be a little..." he paused for a lack of a word to describe the hurricane that had just left a few seconds earlier, "unpredictable. I think it's easier if we just go to my room,"

He gestured them towards another door and his bedroom was littered with Drake and Chris Brown posters. Sections of only wallpaper was rare and there was a double bed on one side and a desk with two chairs on the other. Overall it was impeccably clean and Kyungsoo felt comfortable with the thought of studying productively for the next few hours.

"So, are you guys...?" Yoongi trailed off, not knowing how to phrase the question but it looked like he didn't need to since Mark had understood him just fine as he began rapidly shaking his head.

"Me and Jackson?" He sounded horrified and a little bewildered as he asked the question, "definitely not! We don't see each other like that," he denied, shaking his head and Kyungsoo would have believed him, had he not been a witness to the painfully obvious flirtation that had taken place right in front of him a while ago.

Yoongi merely regarded him with suspicious, narrowed eyes before shrugging, uncaring, "if you say so."

Kyungsoo took out his folder from his bag and took out their module notes. This group assignment was incredibly important and they needed to do well or slay their finals so the grade wouldn’t affect them as much but he wanted top marks. If he was going to suffer doing such a boring subject for the sake of his future, then he needed to get nothing less than a first-class degree. Nothing less than perfect would do.

"Let's start then. We're still doing pretty decent on time and if we split the workload this should be really easy," Mark informed them, taking out one of the project sheets and circling a few of the major bullet points they had to cover, "Yoongi you can do......."

 

\--

 

Two hours later and they were finally beginning to wrap up their session. Thanks to Mark's knowledge of their research project and his incredibly meticulous nature, everything was running smoothly. They were far from being friends however. Even though neither of the three were particularly unlikeable, they weren't exactly engaging in witty entertaining banter but then again it made sense.

True introverts, they all preferred to get to know someone properly before being entirely comfortable with them. This did mean that whenever they weren't discussing work there was a painful silence that all three were aware of but didn't know how to break. Small talk ensued, it had been boring but it beat staring at Mark's colourful walls. Maybe it would take them a bit longer to get close since they were way too different, having different hobbies and music tastes. Kyungsoo and Yoongi were packing their bags when they heard the front door start rattling.

"HONEY I'M HOME!" A vaguely familiar voice yelled and they both turned towards Mark questioning. The pink haired boy only fondly smiled and held the room door open for them. The stepped out back into the living room and saw Jackson sitting on one of the sofas looking like the cat that got the canary.

"And what's got you looking so happy?" Mark asked with both eyebrows raised, looking intrigued but also very used to this situation. By the looks of it Jackson probably came home this excited often.

"Some guy bumped into me and I spilt my latte everywhere. It was a mess but Jaebum was like 'hold up' and bought me a new one. He was so cool and manly! I'm not gonna a lie, my heart fluttered a little..." his voice trailed off and there was a small pause.

"It fluttered? Over coffee? You sap," Mark looked every bit as unimpressed as his voice implied but it sounded more like jealousy to Kyungsoo. Clearly they were both in denial and it didn’t look like they’d be getting a clue any time soon.

"Hey! It was an honest reaction okay." Jackson attempted to defend himself with a pout that looked way to childlike on the muscly twenty-year old face.

"Honest my ass," the pink haired boy snorted.

"Enough about me...Do you guys wanna stay for dinner?" Jackson changed the topic, looking fed up of his roommate mocking his pathetic love life.

"What dinner? There’s no groceries, you want us to order takeaway for them?

Kyungsoo looked around and Mark was right, what dinner? The kitchen looked completely bare and he was touched by their desire to welcome them so whole heartedly. They didn’t have to but they were choosing to.

"Well yeah. Are you lot fine with ordering in? Both me and Mark have dedicated our first born children to pizza, the food of the Gods!" Jackson answered happily, turning towards their two guests and Kyungsoo was a little startled by the sudden attention.

"No, it's fine. I have to get home anyway," he denied politely. It was his turn to make dinner at the dorm and if he slipped out of it, he'd never hear the end of it. Besides, there was a lasagne recipe he found online yesterday that he was dying to try out.

"Same here. I have this thing I'm doing with my friend," Yoongi also denied the offer, grimacing a little regretfully.

"Alright. Maybe next time. Looks like I'll be seeing you guys more anyway," Jackson looked hopeful which was a little weird since they didn't really know each other but his kind nature was sweet. Even though this union was meant for work purposes only, Kyungsoo could see this becoming something much deeper.

"Sure,"

"I'll walk you guys down. Do you think you can make your ways home from here or do you need any help?"

"You're acting like you live on the outskirts. We can manage," Yoongi commented amusedly, shaking his head at Mark's almost chivalrous hospitality.

"Okay but if you guys call me about being lost, just know I'm gonna laugh before trying to help,"

"Laugh and we'll send you the directions to an abandoned warehouse instead. See how you like that," Kyungsoo added, smirking at the thought.

"I'd pay to see that," Yoongi nodded thoughtfully and Mark looked visibly offended at how he was being ganged up against.

"Fine" he muttered bitterly, causing the other two to smile, "see if I even pick up,"

They laughed at that and Mark smiled as he gestured them to the entrance, quickly putting on his sneakers. Yoongi and Kyungsoo did the same, waving Jackson goodbye from the front door.

"So... next week? Where should we meet? My place again?" They were on the lift and they needed to decide where their next meeting point would be.

"If you don't mind. We can go over to mine this time instead though if you do," Yoongi offered.

"I wouldn't mind but Jackson got his business lot coming over and a packed house won’t be nice, so let's just do it at yours," Mark proposed hesitantly, not wanting to overstep his boundaries.

"Great, then it's settled. See you next week," Yoongi didn't look like he minded at all and Mark breathed a sigh of relief in return. Jackson’s business friends must be loud if he was reacting like that. They’d really dodged a bullet there then.

"See you!" Mark called out as he waved at them from the entrance of his apartment building.

Walking away, Yoongi looked over at Kyungsoo. His mint hair ruffled in the wind under his beanie and he was wrapping a scarf around his neck. The short walk back towards university was a comfortable one that involved both putting their ear buds in and admiring the luscious green trees that surrounded their campus. At one point Yoongi took a photo of an ancient looking oak tree with a giddy smile and Kyungsoo was slightly baffled.

The tree wasn't much to look at if he was being honest but what if Yoongi was the sentimental artistic type? But then why would he be studying engineering? Maybe to him, trees had some sort of meaning to him besides the fact that they produced oxygen that we took in. Whatever it was, Kyungsoo was curious.

"Why did you just take a picture of a tree?" He cocked an eyebrow and Yoongi turned to him with a small smile. It wasn't the smartest way to voice the question but be didn't care. Language was meant to get your voice across. Not beautified and waxed lyrical. Short and concise was much better if you asked him.

"It's for my portfolio. I do a bit of photography on the side so nowadays I just snap anything that I want to include and come back for it again if I really like it."

"And the tree...?"

"Look over here," he beckoned him over and got Kyungsoo to look closely at one of the leaves, "see how they've all got different patterns, different scars but they all combine together to contribute to a bigger thing. So similar but so different. See this tree, it's smaller than the rest but thicker in bark. The ivy on it looks older than the tree and it paints this picture I just had to keep in my memories."

His passion came through and was emphasised by the pink flush on his cheeks so Kyungsoo looked, really looked at the tree. He could see the way he looked at it begin to change. He saw the soft breeze tickling the bark and brushing against the leaves, rustling them. He was so used to seeing things in black and white that he realised there was a lot he was missing out on. That childhood wonder and the rose-tinted glasses that had been robbed from him at a young age.

"I see it," he murmured and Yoongi looked over at him with understanding eyes.

"Sometimes, all it takes is a difference in perception. The world doesn't change, only the way you see it," the slate haired student sounded sympathetic as he said that, it looked like he'd gone through some perception changing of his own.

Kyungsoo nodded, "I guess."

It looked like the way he was looking at the world was wrong then. As much as he was content, maybe he was missing out on a world outside his box. He mentally contemplated, as they got to the front steps of the main entrance, while Yoongi opened his mouth again.

"So...I'm waiting for a friend of mine and he's organising a party at his house tomorrow night. I'll text you the details if you wanna come,” Yoongi proposed, looking intently at Kyungsoo.

"I don't think so," the black haired boy denied, not much of a partier but the other student just stared at him with an amused expression. If he was a paranoid person he’d suggest that Min Yoongi right now looked like he knew him better than he knew himself but the thought was ridiculous so he shrugged it off as quickly as it entered his mind.

"I really hope you'll change your mind. Who knows, you might end up having fun. Changing perception remember. I'll send you the details anyway yeah."

Just as he'd said that a brown haired boy came bounding towards them with a fresh grin and a bounce to his steps. "Yoongi hyung, you're early."

The stranger in question, Kyungsoo learned pretty quickly was Jung Hoseok, a first year dance student and self-titled "Yoongi's best friend". A few minutes of talking to him and Kyungsoo felt like he'd known the energetic brunet for a long time. He just had that aura, a real people's person. Not to mention friendliness was oozing out of him in waves, being mean to him would be like kicking a puppy so Kyungsoo kept the short conversation as two sided as he possibly could. Hoseok didn’t look like he’d consider it the same but everyone had different limits when it came to sociability.

"We have to go but it was cool meeting you, Soo," Hoseok called out, dragging Yoongi by the arm. The nickname? Well, it was given to him a few seconds into their meeting and honesty, Kyungsoo was a little blindsided by the whole conversation so he didn't know what to say to the other boy in response to it.

"See you around!" He heard from a distance. That and Yoongi's halfhearted grumbling.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys like the update. After writing this chapter, I finally feel like I know where this fic is gonna go and how to move forward so yayyyy. Before that i felt really unsure and unhappy with it so I feel really good right now, this adrenaline high is better than drugs y'all (btw I mean paracetemol lool, I'm a wimp)
> 
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> Sorry Kai wasnt present here but Mark and Yoongi are equally cool though (aren't they? wink wink) and of course JACKSON!
> 
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> 
> Anyway, hugs and kisses to anyone reading, if you see any typos - shhh.....I put those there to trip you guys up ;P 
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> aaaand I'm out xx
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> the_raging_midgit


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